Rueful Crimson
by Kimchi Poutine
Summary: Elesis made mistakes in the mantles she had taken up: knight of the Velder Kingdom, fighter of the El Search Party, and elder sister. Maybe this time, there's a way to make everything right.


**Writing Prompt: "Not my favourite character(s)"**

* * *

They died pleading for her to save them, screaming her name in entreaties that would never be gratified.

She broke herself trying. Shouting until her voice became hoarse, and then silenced altogether. Those she had been tasked to lead and protect, she had failed. Blood soaked the side of her face where a demon had slashed upwards, but her other eye absorbed the grisly scenes.

A few had been decapitated in the initial ambush. They were lucky to have death delivered swiftly.

They were her knights, her comrades, her _**friends**_. They willingly followed her into battle, trusting that her leadership would guide them to victory and safety for their loved ones.

"L-lady Knight…save me!" His shrieks gurgled as he drowned in his own blood. The monsters guffawed at his begging, slamming a spear into his mouth with a sickening _squelch_.

"Forgive me…"

When the creatures left, roaring and carrying trophies of their conquests, Elesis was alone, surrounded by the corpses that had once been her companions. The putrefaction of poisoned and violated flesh festered.

The foul sky stared back at her clouding eyes, mocking her. The demonic assault had trounced her forces so thoroughly—it would be too late. She fought the urge to close her eyes as her vision darkened.

 _There's no human alive who doesn't know fear. The brave ones are those who have learned to hide it, that's all._

The eerie silence, rather than soothe her into eternal sleep, augmented her emotions. Panic, despair, rage, the clawing desperation of a woman who could not bear to lose; the metallic tang was not the taste of blood, but of her own fear. Someone had to report back to Velder, let them know. Someone had to give these warriors an honourable funeral.

Someone had to live for them, to make sure their deaths were more than a victory for the evil. Someone had to **make them pay** for the unspeakable crimes, their **deaths!**

As if it was one mind with her, the Dark El pulsed. It was only a fragment, but that was enough.

There was no bargain made by some ambiguous entity. The energy of the Dark El resonated with its holder's ferocious desire to survive and wreak havoc on those who wronged her, an energy Elesis chose to embrace. Anything, she thought, anything to live.

She wanted to **live**.

Hovering on the brink of life and death, the blood seeping from her wounds slowed to a trickle. Undiluted Dark El energy flowed into her bloodstream. Her body twitched in horrifying spasms as her limbs jerked, forcibly knitting the broken bones and ripped flesh back together. Red, red everywhere—

There were no agonizing moans during this gruesome transformation. She had accepted this.

When she was on her feet, her fingers twitched. She had wished to survive. That was achieved. Now came her other wish— **vengeance**. She looked around, surveying the area with eyes of newly corrupted amber.

Fresh human remains…all having similar expressions of terror and despair; she would have wept.

She would bury them. Shallow, unmarked graves; let the passers-by bring them flowers. While they mourned the dead, she would avenge them. For vengeance, without someone to avenge, was mindless rage. A scrap of her scarf—a reminder of what she fought for—loosely tied her hair; a reminder. Never again.

"Forgive me…" The words trailed behind her, seeping into the mounds of earth. Let them rest, for she would retaliate upon their slayers. Never would she stop in her new quest, to wreak bloody vengeance on the demons.

The Crimson Avenger was born.

* * *

 **Lanox**

They had failed to stop the conspiracy from unravelling. This was a minor concern to Elesis, who surged with renewed power as she met her adversary. One could almost think that from her elated rage, she was meeting an old friend.

"I hope you didn't forget my words from last time, Elesis." Scar growled. "Your funeral waits."

"The words spoken by a retreating coward means nothing." Her voice crackled with manic anticipation. "I will end you first!"

In their first encounter, Scar fought a determined warrior—determined, but human filth nonetheless. Now, Scar wasn't sure what he was fighting. A madwoman? A demoness? She wielded dark, dark powers—and there was only bliss in her eyes, a bliss that assured his demise. No matter what wounds she sustained, they served to strengthen her.

Elesis was still slashing at the remains of Scar after his demise. An old enemy, now gone! She laughed in sadistic glee, peals of mirth echoing throughout. Whose funeral was it to be now? Who was victorious, demon?

The grim expression of the man she once called brother implied her thoughts were louder than expected.

Amid the terrified cries of those around her, the yawning portal cracked as a monstrous claw emerged from the maw of the void. The god of the demon world, Sult, had come.

The claw alone radiated death, its diabolical influence whipping the demons across Elrios into an enraged frenzy. The members of the El Search Party prepared for another battle, one that would end with their lives. Ara was struggling not to let her terror show.

Still exhilarated from her triumph over Scar, her serrated Claymore glowed burgundy, thirsting. Not even a deity was exempt from her vengeance. It would feel the tremors of pain; its bloody screams the melody for her soul.

"A demon god…I will end you!" A toothy grin warped her features as she leapt. As dark projectiles spewed upon them, with no way of dodging, she expected the piercing pains to come and further expand her wrath—

 _No!_

That wasn't her voice, but it came from her. Her blade, poised to tear, slowed to a halt. They stared at her with wide eyes, though not with the horrified revulsion she was accustomed to. No, they were… _in awe_ , jaws agape in wonder.

A golden shield—ethereal as sunlight and powerful as the sun—emanated from her being. Encompassing all of her battle companions, the obsidian missiles were absorbed by the glow.

An unearthly roar shook the battlegrounds. From her chest, a sigil materialized, this time a regal silver. Her mouth chanted a spell lost to time, her blade channelling archaic magic that turned silvery beams of pure light into unyielding fetters that wrapped around the hand of Sult, sealing away the god once more from Elrios.

" _That's_ another level of crazy." Add mumbled.

"Miss Elesis saved us." Ara gently reminded him. Add scoffed, and then looked away.

But something did seem amiss. The Haan line went back a long ways, having dedicated themselves to protect the Moon El. She could sense the corruption of El that tainted Miss Elesis.

The power she had just used to save their lives…that was neither simple sorcery nor Dark El. No, that was the power of pure El, without a single flaw.

How could this be?

When her feet were back on the ground, her eyes glimmered back to bloody sunsets as she shrugged off concerns and inquiries.

"I don't know what happened." She said curtly. "We're wasting time here."

She walked away, expression darker than before, and it wasn't simply because she had been denied satisfaction of quenching her bloodlust. Whatever…happened back there did something strange. Her passion for bloody retribution was now marred with alien emotions.

"Sister—Elesis, are you all right?" A gloved hand gripped her shoulder, an action that risked dismemberment had he not been… "Please, let us help you."

She stiffened, but when she turned to look him in the eye, the knight was caught off-guard. There was no bloodthirsty gleam in her eyes, or lifeless apathy. There were emotions he thought she had long abandoned.

Without a word, she roughly jerked from his grip, expression snapping back to indifference: a warning. His very face amplified these newfound sentiments of…shame?

Her head hurt to think of it.

* * *

 **Elysion**

A paradise for a race thought extinct, a place neither here nor there. It was hard to tell if Add or Eve were more ecstatic of the new discoveries they had found. The great palace—disguised as troops—meeting sophisticated Nasods and their curious delight at meeting Eve—Ciel's musings that the end was near—metal birds?

Her head kept hurting. What she had dismissed as a passing thought back in Lanox returned tenfold, the pain and frustrations demanding release where none was to be had.

"Hey, watch it, crazy lady." Add snapped at her. "They're eyeing you again."

"Watch your tongue." Elesis snarled back with unusual vigour. "Or I shall rip it out."

"Yeah, fight me in the middle of town. That'll give them some solace." Add jeered.

Whatever method Elesis was devising to skewer Add, his last word reinforced her headache and she shuffled away, biting back the string of profanity as the other members cheerfully talked to the denizens.

She paid no heed to the confused and knowing glances of the natives. She didn't care which Nasod was in charge of what. She only felt guilt and remorse and she could not understand why. When sleeping, she dreamt less of the satisfying carnage of her enemies, but of people she thought she knew, places she'd never been yet remembered in a haze, scenes always soaked in regret.

Too bright. So bright, as if the sun itself had burst.

 _Forgive me…_

Elsword also appeared in her dreams, looking sad but understanding. What did he understand?

This pain was not the clean, adrenaline-charged gashes of a battle. This pain was misty and made her feel things that distracted her from her destined path of revenge.

It was the only thing that had to matter.

Everyone knew Elesis had little to say by default. But it was a surprise that the younger sibling was equally quiet, looking pensive. Aisha tried to call him out on it.

"I'm just…seeing things that don't make sense." Elsword replied, frowning. "I see a shining lady…the El…strange visions…"

Lu raised a hand towards him. "She calls to you. I feel her divine presence boring into you like a worm on rotting wood."

"Demons aren't fond of overt godly influences." Ciel responded to Elsword's raised eyebrow with a dry chuckle. "But Lu is right. I feel something—someone—around you. It's not a demonic aura."

Lu sniffed. "An external presence can only help your lack of intelligence."

"Lu."

Ignoring her partner, she continued, "What intrigues me," a giant claw pointed, "is that I feel the same grasp on her."

She addressed Elesis directly.

"You use power akin to the berserker demons of my realm, fighting to kill like a rabid beast. How can it be that you retain her celestial purity without turning to ashes?"

Elesis turned to the girl-like creature, glaring murder. "Do not compare me to the likes of your kind, _demon._ "

"Aaaand here we go." Add swore quietly, out of irritation than actual dread. He didn't bother to keep track of how many villages they had alienated because of his teammates' 'quirks'.

"Hey now, none of that." Ciel gently pulled Lu closer to his side. "Lu, don't do this when there are innocents around."

"There are always innocents around, Ciel. Yet it matters little to her. How can something so despoiled be graced with—"

"Lu!"

Whether it was out of courage or stupidity, Aisha jumped in. "Do you mean the El Lady? Could she be here in Elysion?" With brimming excitement towards Elsword, "Do you think that you are having dreams of her?"

El? The El Lady? Elesis couldn't care less about such things. Children's tales and obsolete relics mattered less than dirt.

It was not this idle garbage talk that stopped her from disembowelling the demon that deceptively posed as a child. No, it was the renewed headache, and the flux of the emotions that dulled her drive for blood. It was as if another voice had awoken within her, this…this _seed_ that took root since the inexplicable events concerning Sult.

Elsword looked at her with worried eyes.

The last El Lady and the El explosion were lore most of the team knew, or had an idea of. It was what tied the diverse cultures and people of Elrios together. Few who witnessed and survived the events in reality lived now.

As they continued to walk, Ara felt her shift uneasily.

 _Miss Elesis must be suffering. Is the Dark El within her fighting with the El around us?_

 _ **Beyond that,**_ Eun replied. _ **But the demon is correct. The madwoman's body is more than her own, and it is a familiar qi.**_

 _The Dark El?_

 _ **The Dark El merely reacted to her primal fear of death. But this qi is new. I have not felt such power in a long time…**_ its voice was coy.

 _ **Before the Second Ruination brought by your kind, even I knew of the sacrificial protector.**_

Eun refused to delve further. _**What unlikely fodder. But fear not, little one,**_ she said to a bemused Ara. _**Y** **ou will not perish yet.**_

Elesis was besotted with an emotion akin to relief when she was finally allowed to fight. Add had his Dynamos out only to catch the stray foe Elesis missed in her unsuppressed frenzy, focusing most of his attention on savouring Ciel's latest batch of cookies: chewy chocolate chunk made with browned butter.

However, Elesis' euphoria faded in the midst of more visions, more guilt and regret, and a headache that was now agonizingly painful. These enemies did not bleed. Chunks of alloy were strewn about, but no crimson. The pain wouldn't go away. Make it stop!

 _Forgive me…_

A guttural screech pierced the heavens.

Elsword was the first to approach her. "Elesis! Are you hurt?!"

Crouching beside her, Elsword fumbled for a waterskin. "Someone give me water!"

Clutching her head in her hands she turned, ruby eyes meeting scarlet.

"…El…sword…"

He hesitated, wondering if those eyes truly belonged to a sister he thought lost to the Dark El. He touched her shoulder…and she didn't stiffen.

Elsword wasn't having it easy, either. Another voice was speaking to him, pleading that he save Elrios. And as much as he wished to deny it, it had to be the El Lady. But why was Elesis also…oh no…

His musings were interrupted as another horde of Angel Nasods detected their presence, drawing their weapons ominously.

"Elsword! We have to keep moving!" Ciel yelled.

The sounds of battle resumed in force, jolting Elesis as foul gold coloured her eyes once again. She picked up her claymore. "We must fight."

Her sword arm twitched, as if it wished to slice her head open.

But the Dark El, in the face of its untainted counterpart, slowly retracted its influence on its host. The tarnished ochre in her eyes was washed away, replaced with…specks of the clearest blue.

Although the Dark Energy crumbled, the memories remained. Memories always remained.

The victims of her gore-filled pursuit for retribution; the unspoken pleas for mercy cut down with a ruthless swing. She had been called tyrant, murderer, a terror. She killed in cold blood, simply because her vengeance demanded.

She had carried these deeds with unyielding judgment, often to the horror of Elsword and their companions. Regardless, the Crimson Avenger was immune to the horror and shock others felt in her actions.

The Crimson Avenger was immune to the guilt and remorse one might feel.

But not Elesis.

* * *

They died pleading for her to save them, screaming her name in entreaties that were never to be gratified.

She tried. She broke herself trying, even as she knew it was too late. Straining to reach out to the El, knowing she was beyond its reach. Those she had been tasked to protect, she had failed them. She had deserted her place as the ultimate protector.

"L-lady El…save me!" A shard of the jewel that once prospered Elrios was now embedded in a child's stomach as she weakly coughed. Her hand reached out...and fell.

"Forgive me…" Pale hands trembled. Beyond her, hundreds of other bodies lay lifeless and thousands of those who still lived begged for salvation and forgiveness for whatever they might have done to provoke this catastrophe. Decorations of the Harmony Festival were strewn about, broken as the El they were made to honour.

She couldn't protect them. She couldn't protect Ishmael's power. She had abandoned her duty and her foolishness cost countless lives and eternal strife.

She was a coward. As her eyes closed, she saw Solace—Perrihart—another she failed to protect—and made a promise: Till the El was restored. She would protect Elrios from the vilest of demons with the remaining power of Ishmael she had left. When beloved Ishmael finally forgave her and allowed her to resume her duties, she would not fail.

Not even Perrihart could sway her this time.

* * *

No! She had to keep going!

This man called "Solace" had barely drawn his sword, and already she was on the ground, practically inviting him to strike. Her headaches blinded her in torment, and through the anguish, she slowly came to understand what the masked man said himself.

"She has been chosen to become the next El Lady."

Stunned gasps; none of them came from Elesis. The guilt and shame of the previous El Lady merged with her own, and she could only look. Solace stared back at her, and the name rose to her lips …

"…Perrihart…"

The corners of his mouth twitched. "So the seed she has planted grows."

"What are you doing to my sister?!" Elsword growled.

"It is as I said." Solace aimed his sword. "And the now end draws near."

As the rest of the team charged, Elsword carried Elesis to the side. She was too weak to protest.

"It's all right, Elesis. As soon as we take him down you'll be okay."

She tried to say something. More memories poured in, as if a dam she didn't know was there had been broken. She wanted to say so many things. But with a cautious smile, he turned and joined Raven in the frontal assault.

El. The El Lady. Images flashed through her mind. Elsword. The blaze of a warm campfire, the flames of her blessing to welcome the first El Master. The beautiful El, unbroken and whole as it called to her and sang the blessing and favour of Ishmael. Warm hugs of friends. Promises made by children. Laughter of the Harmony festival. Cloying scent of pumpkin pies. Her little brother eagerly getting his wooden sword, ready to spar—

Then, dark. Pleading and screaming for her. Crying. Blood. Couldn't protect it…couldn't protect them! Had to make it right! Then, more blood. Unending chaos.

All because both of them had failed their mission.

Was that why she had been chosen?

She was calling to her. Or was it the El, sensing her as the successor?

The man named Solace didn't want Elrios to rely on the El. If it were restored, it would "continue the vicious cycle", with her as the El Lady. That they could connect the remaining El fragments along with the energy of all life, and create a new world…

 _Perrihart has always been a visionary. Time had truly stopped for him…all for me…but I couldn't protect him._

She reached out, holding the hand that would soon be hers.

 _Then, we do it_ _ **right**_ _this time._

"What in Henir!" His knees shook as the rest of his team were sprawled around him. Even with the memories of the halted sun of sorrows, Elesis rose, ethereal yet assured.

Something had changed about her. Her legacy as Crimson Avenger was crumbling away and replaced by the light of a deity.

"What…" He staggered towards her, her catching him with steadying ease. "What's happening?"

"Elsword…" Elesis smiled with a lucid tranquility. "When I lay dying in Feita—I was so afraid. I have always been afraid and guilty."

"Elesis, what—" He stiffened as his opponent came closer, weapon still drawn.

Elesis simply looked at Solace with a trace of pity. "I felt her guilt, and mine. Our sorrows are the same. Harnier failed Elrios, I failed my knights. We failed our brothers." To Solace directly, "You loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope—everything beyond reason."

"I promised to protect Harnier!" His callous demeanour shattered with an emotional outburst. "I know she has shown you her memories, successor, as I have shown mine to your brother. I have kept that promise through the centuries, even though she may never wake!"

She who accepted her fate shook her head before turning back to the person she dearly wanted to protect. Both Elsword and Perrihart had been let down because of her—because of them.

"Please stand aside."

"No." Solace flatly refused. Why did he still fight? "Elsword is the true Guardian of El. It is his choice, not yours."

A remnant of rage bubbled and died; there was nothing to avenge, only cleanse. "This is my decision, and Harnier's will." Her eyes contained flecks of azure. "You went against her wishes once, and brought tragedy. Will you defy her once again?"

The fallen El Master wavered, which gave her enough time to reach out, fingers outstretched. Her Claymore flew into her grip, gleaming pure quicksilver as a powerful strike manifested from the resolve of its wielder.

Not even the sun was exempt from the will of a god.

She looked around the room, the motionless bodies of her comrades. If she hadn't lost herself to the Dark El, they could have been her friends. But when they regained consciousness, there would be no more fighting. They could finally rest. Elsword would lead them back, and they would live in harmony.

"S-sis…" How vulnerable he looked! Doubt, sadness, admiration, longing—they flickered on the canvas of his face.

Fragments of a gentle smile stirred on her face, a real smile. "Let me do this one thing right, little brother."

The chamber seemed to tremble as she approached the pod. No more headaches.

"Elesis—Elesis!" He yelled. The light became blinding, veiling her in radiant splendour. He could barely make out what she was saying as she placed her hand on the capsule. The pod quivered—and the El Lady opened her eyes, staring at her heiress, reaching out with her own.

The essence of El, accepted by the embodiment of Ishmael, encompassed her in a supernova. The Dark El energy mired in her organs and sanity was nothing to the godly power as it was purged from her body, replacing it with the divine blessing.

She had accepted this, the purification of her once-tainted soul and its many sins of blood. She would usher a renewed era of the peace her brother and his friends had fought and bled for.

Just two more words, spared for the brother she would protect.

 _Forgive me._

He closed his eyes.

She opened hers.


End file.
